Anonymous
by Tee-Cup
Summary: Bucky Barnes was a victim, manipulated by Hydra to do their bidding, so once both SHEILD and Hydra are gone there should be no cause for concern in terms of Winter Soldiers. Right? Rated T for self-harm, violence and abuse. Set after The Winter Soldier.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Agent Jonathan March was a brilliant man and an excellent agent. His shock of dark hair and piercing blue eyes had won the hearts of many through his workplace and ensured his glittering career. That had all been before the accident that hadn't been his fault. It hadn't been his fault that the woman had ignored his warnings and walked right into the firing zone and had been killed; but it had given The Director reason to doubt him, not to mention exposed the doubts of those who knew about the Area. Jonathan had been berated for not being thorough enough and had been knocked down a few pegs in his career, he now needed to prove himself again.

Area had been founded by the Director after the Alien attack on New York to help combat dangerous forces. They didn't believe in superheroes, they believed in real people being real saviours and their sole purpose was to combat those who they considered enemies. Jonathan joined when he was rejected from SHIELD, very few people knew about Area but those who did were the most important in the world. SHIELD didn't even deem them important enough to keep tabs on but to Jonathan they were the future; and he was helping to shape it.

He dismissed Vanessa, his second in command, from the room and had her close the door behind her. He then flipped a switch behind his desk and the room went dark as a large screen was unveiled on the opposite wall to his desk. He leant back in his chair and tried to breathe deeply to calm his nerves. When the Director had called a meeting between the pair of them, Jonathan had to admit that he was nervous about the future of his job. He'd not been given any new cases since the incident, he'd been made to fill in paperwork, confined to his office. When the Winter Soldier incident took place and SHIELD's headquarters was infiltrated and exposed to be controlled by Hydra, he had been sat idly by filling in reports. He'd desperately wanted to be part of the action, part of the team that had gone in to track down the Winter Soldier and bring him in. But there was nothing he could do but tick boxes and type up interviews.

The screen was unveiled and sprung into life, a faint blue illuminated the screen as it awaited the Director's call which Jonathan knew would be precisely forty-five seconds later than arranged. In this waiting period Jonathan sat up straight in his chair and leaned his hands on the desk, cracking his knuckles and taking a deep breath to steady himself for when the Director's call came in and her face filled the screen opposite him.

'Director.' Jonathan greeted his boss formally in his silky voice with a smile. He doubted that this call was about something positive in his future, but he was determined to keep fighting to acquire any position that was better than the one he was in at that moment.

'Agent March.' The Director replied with no hint of a smile at all. She was serious and business-like, her crinkled face and stiff hair barely moving and Jonathan wondered if she'd ever had any work done.

'How can I help you today, Director?' Jonathan asked in the politest tone he could muster and the Director sighed.

'I want to talk to you about the Winter Soldier situation. You know that Area is attempting to track him down to either terminate him or recruit him?' She asked and Jonathan nodded, his smile unwavering as he began to relax. Hope crept in as he suspected that perhaps his forgiveness was beginning and he would potentially be rewarded with an assignment.

'Yes, ma'am I am aware of these efforts. I would be glad to assist in any way I can.' He replied and he thought he saw her eyes narrow slightly but he couldn't be sure.

'Don't be ridiculous, March. There's no chance of you being in the field again yet. However, the Soldier is causing problems for us. Unless we can bring him in or kill him, he is going to continue to cause problems for some of our more esteemed agents.' She explained and Jonathan did his best to keep his composure but his hands tightened around one another and he gritted his teeth. His polite smile turned into more of a grimace.

'If you don't want me in the field, ma'am, then why are you consulting me about this?' He asked and she paused for a moment as if trying to decide whether he was being insolent or impatient. Only one of those traits appealed to her.

'The Board and I have devised a programme of sorts.' She explained and Jonathan was silent, waiting for her to continue. 'The Winter Soldier himself is from a programme of this caliber. Our scientists have developed the technology we recovered from when SHIELD was destroyed and have developed a sort of variation of the super-soldier serum that Captain America and The Winter Soldier both used. We want to use this variation to create our very own soldier to combat both of these foes and prove to the world that superheroes do not exist.'

'You want to tell civilians and the world that this person is ordinary.' Jonathan confirmed.

'Yes. We want someone who won't be missed. Someone who will appeal to everyone and make the world see that we are the superior protectors instead of their so-called Avengers. And most of all, we want them to take out the Winter Soldier.'

'I'm sorry, ma'am, but I still don't see where I come into this?' Jonathan said, leaning forward and looking at her quizzically.

'We want you and Agent Note to head the programme. Find someone, train them, and have them become the next hero. I've sent you the details.' She said and Jonathan's computer beeped at that moment to signify that he had received a new email.

'Don't let me down March, it would be such a shame.' She said and before he could reply she disappeared.

Jonathan paused for a moment in the shock of her sudden departure and the abrupt darkness. He then flipped on the light and blinked a few times to adjust his eyes to the light. He opened the email that had been sent to him and briefly scanned through the details of the programme. It was brutal and hard-hitting, it was perfect for Jonathan.

'Vanessa!' He yelled suddenly, knowing that she would be waiting outisde the door for him to have finished his meeting with the Director.

Agent Vanessa Note was equally as good-looking as Jonathan. Her hair bounced around her waist and curled effortlessly, her eyes were always half closed so she looked like she was looking down at you and she walked with a saunter which proved she was better than you. Her lips were set in their usual pout and Jonathan believed that he was the only person she had any respect for in the entire Area.

'What did she want?' Vanessa asked, collapsing into a chair opposite him once she shut the door.

'She gave us a new assignment. We're heading a programme.' Jonathan told her and a glimmer of interest sparked in Vanessa's eyes.

'What kind of programme?' She asked excitedly, sitting up straight in her chair and giving him her full attention.

'First thing's first. We need to find a candidate.'

'For what?' She asked irritably and he sighed and turned his computer screen towards her. He waited whilst she scanned through the details herself and watched her as a smile formed on her lips. If anyone was more interested in tough love than Jonathan, it was Vanessa.

'Intersting.' She mused. 'Do you think it'll work?'

'I think that once we're through with them it will. We'll turn them into the most ruthless solider there is.' He replied with a smile and she grinned back.

'But where are we gonna get them?' She asked and he turned the computer screen back towards him.

'Vanessa, my dear, this place was founded after the events of New York of two thousand and twelve in order to combat any enemies necessary. Avengers, aliens, soliders. But, those events destroyed so many lives, took away homes and lives and businesses. It turned what was once a thriving city into a place where people were fighting to survive!' He said to her and she rolled her eyes but allowed him to continue.

'That's where we go. Find someone who was affected badly by the events of the attack and someone who's thirsty for revenge. Someone from the place that started it all. If that doesn't impress the Director I don't know what will.' He said as he began to type into his computer. Vanessa waited patiently whilst he typed and muttered.

'It needs to be someone who won't be missed. Who can go large and won't be recognised. Someone who can be the face of the Area.' He muttered and Vanessa cleared her throat.

'Some homeless kid.' She said and Jonathan looked up at her suddenly.

'A homeless kid such as this one?' He said and turned the screen again to show her to Vanessa. She was thin with dirty blonde hair and wide, green eyes. She held up a number in her mug shot, she'd been arrested for squatting.

'She's perfect. What's her name?' Vanessa asked as Jonathan reclaimed the screen to admire his new project with a sadistic smile.

'Hazel.' He told her. 'Hazel Trigger.'


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

 _The wormhole seemed to grow larger and larger with every passing second, it was ugly and beautiful all at once and Hazel didn't want to look at it; but she couldn't tear her eyes away. Suddenly her brother's hands were around her own, he was terrified, still just a child. His grip brought her back to her senses and her eyes tore away from the wormhole to Magnus' terrified expression. The aliens were coming down thick and fast towards the city and once they were in close enough proximity, they began to fire._

' _Hazel!' Magnus yelled as they ducked for cover and she dragged him into the cafe and out of harm's way. Inside, their parents were waiting in line, confused by the sudden panic. They ran over to join their children by the window as they looked out into the chaos outside; the monsters were shooting left, right and centre, taking no prisoners. They seemed to be making a bee-line for the cafe._

 _Hazel felt her father's hands on her shoulder, pulling her away from the window just moments before an alien crashed through and aimed. The first bolt that came from its gun killed an elderly woman who couldn't move fast enough, and that was when the adrenaline really kicked in. Hazel, Magnus, and their parents, dived for the door that led to the kitchen, scrambling past the people with the same idea. They all pushed through to the back door and caught a glimpse of the infamous Iron Man zooming past._

' _Come on, this way.' Their father ordered and they obeyed without question. They followed him as he darted across the road towards cover on the other side. The building suddenly exploded and they were thrown backwards in the blast. Hazel and Magnus clung together on the ground as the blast rung in their ears and they struggled to get a grip on their surroundings. Hazel blinked a few times and saw Captain America, someone she'd barely heard of except in her high school History class, walking away from the blast and it clicked. He had thrown the bomb, or deflected it in some way, but he had been responsible for the blast. He hurried away to deal with more of the aliens as Hazel frantically searched for her parents._

 _Magnus was hurt, his leg was bleeding but he assured her that he was fine so Hazel rushed off in the direction she was sure her parents had been. There was nothing left but a large pile of rubble and a few scattered bodies. She saw the wrist of her mother sticking out from under the rubble, only identifiable from the wedding and engagement rings that she'd used to allow Hazel to play with as a young girl. Her father lay a little closer, his breathing was laboured and he couldn't move._

' _Dad!' Hazel exclaimed and knelt beside him, trying to think of how she could help him. His body was twisted unnaturally; blood coated every part of him and his surrounding area. He couldn't even speak; he just looked up at her with wide, terrified eyes. One moment he was looking at her, the next his eyes were unseeing._

' _Dad, dad no please!' Hazel yelled and then she screamed and screamed..._

And woke up.

Hazel hated that nightmare more than any other, mainly because it wasn't just a dream, but a memory. But when she woke up from the restless sleep in an old, abandoned factory, the nightmare became all too real. She stood up suddenly and decided to pace to try and relieve some of the anxiety building up inside of her. But it didn't seem to help. She moved faster and faster as her breathing became quicker, tears stung at her eyes and her fists clenched. Those events had happened almost three years ago, she knew that she needed to learn to move past them or else they would plague her forever. But she just couldn't forget the transition of her father's eyes, the way they looked so much like Magnus'. She wanted to scream again, she wanted to cry but she had to remain strong.

She sunk to the ground and curled up into a ball on the dusty floor, wrapping her hole-ridden cardigan around herself tighter as she wished hard that she could go back in time and change the events of the past.

'Hazel?' Her head whipped up suddenly and she stared at Magnus with wide eyes. He was no longer the small boy that she always thought of him as, he was becoming a man. He was fourteen years old, she was twenty; to her he would always be her baby brother no matter what. His hair was curly and brown; his eyes were brown and doughy. He was a cherub, that was always how people described him, but now he just looked scared.

'Mags, why are you awake?' Hazel asked him softly, walking over to him. And sitting down beside him again where he lay amongst their few blankets.

'I don't know, I guess I could feel you weren't there. Are you alright?' He asked her, his eyes still wide with worry but she gave him the most reassuring smile she could.

'Yeah, I'm fine. I'm sorry it's cold. Here take my blanket too.' She wrapped her blanket around him despite the way he began to protest. 'Tomorrow I'll find us somewhere warmer to sleep. I promise.' Hazel told him softly but he just looked at her with his scared expression.

'You know I don't blame you for any of this right? Our lives?' Magnus said to her and she smiled at him warmly, stroking his hair and pulling him gently so he lay back down with his head on her lap.

'I know. I'm trying to make it better though. It will get better.' She swore to herself more than him. 'Now you need to get some sleep, we'll need to move pretty far tomorrow, I'm pretty sure they've got a good idea of where we are.'

The police had been tracking them down for a while, they'd accidentally set an abandoned house alight when trying to keep warm. They'd been spotted and been running ever since, it was just Hazel's goal to protect Magnus, and she wouldn't be able to do that from inside a prison cell.

'Hazel, they might understand, they might be able to help us?' Magnus suggested but Hazel just shushed him and stroked his hair.

'Go to sleep.' She ordered and he closed his eyes.

'Will you sing?' He asked after a pause and she nodded. It was a tradition their mother had begun and she now did her best to continue.

 _When you were here before,  
couldn't look you in the eyes,  
you're just like an angel,  
your skin makes me cry,_

 _You float like a feather,  
in a beautiful world,  
you're so very special,  
I wish I was special,_

 _But I'm a creep,  
I'm a weirdo,  
what the hell am I doing here?  
I don't belong here._

 _I don't care if it hurts,  
I want to have control,  
I want the perfect body,  
Want the perfect soul..._

She trailed off here as she realised that his breathing had deepened and he was asleep. She thought about the lyrics and how superficial they were, but she did think that being perfect could have its advantages; she could get them out of their predicament for example.

She knew that there was no way that she would be able to return to sleep so she decided to keep watch instead. If they had to move quickly it wouldn't be the first time and she had worried herself as she thought about how certain she was that the police had to be close. They didn't understand, they never would.

After their parents had been killed, they'd tried to put Magnus into care and help Hazel transition into the world of work but they were going to be separated and Hazel couldn't bear that. It took a lot of convincing, but she eventually managed to get Magnus to run away with her and they'd been living rough on the streets of New York ever since. They'd managed to get to the outskirts of the city undetected and then the fire had happened, they were back on the police's radar, but Hazel managed to give her parole officer the slip and eventually they were back in hiding. This was the best thing for them at that time, it was better than them being split apart.

She wondered if her parents would proud of her or disappointed in the way she'd failed to provide a safe home for Magnus. She didn't want to think that they would be disappointed in her; she liked to think that they would understand why she did what she had to do. There were worse things she could be doing. She sighed and looked down at Magnus' sleeping face, wishing she could be as carefree as him. He always saw the good in everything, he was so optimistic about everything whereas she knew that things were never that simple. Life always had a way of being cruel.

Hazel was an interesting person; she knew that the world was dark and cruel. But inside she longed to return to how she'd once been, so full of brightness and sweetness. In a way she still was this person, she didn't trust a lot of people but once she did then she gave into them completely, she would believe in everything they were. She had a strangely optimistic view of the world, she didn't doubt it, she was just slightly more wary than her brother. If it had just been her then she knew she would never have come this far, but she had to keep going for him.

She thought about how different she'd become in the past few years as she watched Magnus sleep. She fell into a sort of trance that wasn't sleeping but still seemed to provide her with some sense of rest. She tuned into Magnus' easy breathing and stroked his hair in time to their combined breaths. It was like some strange ritual; a ritual that was broken as the flash of light illuminated his face. Hazel's head shot up as she looked to the window of the factory. She didn't need to investigate to know that the police had decided to randomly patrol this area tonight. She swore under her breath and began to gently shake Magnus, hoping that if they made as little noise as possible then they could sneak out before they were detected.

'Mags wake up.' She whispered and winced as the light got closer to the door. Magnus didn't wake up.

'Magnus!' She whispered more urgently and shook him a little harder. He groggily pushed her hand away so she shook him hard and he woke up with a start.

'What?' He asked loudly and she swore out loud that time.

'Who's there? Police!' Someone shouted from outside and the light rushed towards the door. Magnus realised his mistake and the pair of them jumped up, abandoning their blankets and rucksacks with limited food supplies. They sprinted towards an office and hoped there was a way out. The cop had managed to get into the warehouse and was now hurrying after them towards the office.

There was a back door that was jammed by something. Hazel tugged at it over and over but it seemed to be unmoving. There was a window next to it and Hazel paused before rushing to grab a brick that lay on the floor nearby.

'Stand back.' She ordered Magnus who looked worried as she threw the brick through the window. It smashed and Hazel batted at the jagged edges to make it as clear as possible before hurrying Magnus through. As he climbed through she did her best to barricade the office door a little before following.

The cop was already close to breaking the barricade as she slipped through into the alley where Magnus was waiting.

'Come on.' She said and grabbed his hand; together they ran through the alley and hoped that they had gotten away. They heard the blast of the gunshot and Magnus ducked down, Hazel knew the cop was just breaking the lock of the door to pursue them.

Ever since the events of 2012, Magnus had a slight limp. A limp which never usually hindered them, but it hindered them now. Hazel was practically dragging him along as the cop neared them, he'd almost caught up and Hazel was panicking as she wondered whether she could somehow fight him off before continuing to run, something that would get her an even longer prison sentence if or when she was caught.

'Magnus, come on!' She begged him, dragging him harder as they neared a corner but he couldn't go any faster and she didn't blame him. They rounded the corner quickly, Hazel looking back to check their distance and not noticing the man stood directly in front of her. She ran into him at full pelt and Magnus stopped just quick enough to catch her as she barrelled back into him.

'Easy there, kid.' March said to her with a smile as they slowly backed away from him. The policeman rounded the corner in the next moment and stopped suddenly; Hazel and Magnus turned to him and began to back away from him instead.

'Evening, officer.' March said with a smooth smile and placed a firm hand on Hazel's shoulder. She didn't need to be a genius to work out that he was telling her to trust him, so she decided to; it was either him or the police.

'Sir, do you know these two?' The officer asked, suspicious.

'Our niece and nephew.' Vanessa said from behind him with a seductive smile of her own and Hazel nearly jumped, she hadn't seen her skulking in the shadows. Magnus opened his mouth to protest but Hazel glared at him and he closed it again.

'We were out for a late night walk, we like derelict places you see, and these two wandered off. I assure you they meant no harm.' March said, moving around to place his arm around Hazel and give her a squeeze.

'Sir, this is private property and you are all trespassing.' The officer told him, puffing out his chest in a desperate attempt to convey some authority.

'It is?' March asked in feigned disbelief, looking around at the others. 'I did not know that, we are very sorry. How about we go our separate ways and forget this little incident?'

'I'm sorry sir, I can't...' The officer began but March moved around in front of the siblings and towered over him in a show of his own authority. He gave him a hard stare and whispered something that Hazel couldn't hear. She only saw as the officer's face went pale and he nodded quickly.

'I'm very sorry for any inconvenience caused; I hope you all have a lovely night.' He said before almost tripping over his own feet as he hurried to turn around and retreat the way they had come. Once he was gone, March turned back to Hazel and Magnus and Vanessa moved to the middle of the alleyway, trapping them.

'Now, you two...' March said with a tut and a shake of his head. 'We can't have you getting in trouble with the police, can we?'

'Thank you for helping us out. We'll get out of your hair now.' Hazel smiled quickly, gripping Magnus' arm to stop him blurting out anything stupid.

'Hazel we can't just stop here!' March grinned and Hazel's smile fell.

'How do you know my name?' She asked quietly and March laughed.

'We know everything about the pair of you. And we want to help you.'

'Help us? How?'

'We want to help you get back on your feet. Give you somewhere to stay, rent free. Meals and showers, and in return, you'll help us out a little bit with bringing in a criminal that's hurt a lot of people.' March said and Magnus was instantly sold, he would do anything for a hot meal.

'What? Like, to catch a criminal you have to think like them?' Hazel asked and March nodded with a smile.

'Something like that.' He said but Hazel still looked wary, 'It can be on a trial basis. If you decide you don't want to, we'll let you return to your life here.' March said and smiled, waiting for her agreement.

She thought for a moment before looking at Magnus, it was true he needed better care than she could offer, but they didn't know these people or what they wanted from her. She battled with herself for a few moments before returning to the way she thought her parents would think of her. She knew that she had to do anything to protect Magnus, even if it meant trusting total strangers. She turned back to March with a deep breath and a relaxed smile.

'What kind of criminal?'


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Whatever doubts Hazel had about March and Vanessa, they were quickly quelled as they took her and Magnus back to Washington to their facility that had been assigned to them for their project. However, they didn't show Hazel the training facility yet, they ensured that the pair of them were kept to their living quarters and the outside gardens. They were given a large apartment with their own bedrooms and bathrooms, but Hazel often woke up with Magnus in bed beside her. Gradually, over time, this became less frequent; and, combined with the constant upkeep of good meals, she watched as they both became the strong, young adults, that they should be.

March and Vanessa didn't live with them but they were always there when they woke up and didn't leave until after they'd gone to bed. March kept up his sickly sweet, smooth persona and eventually he could tell that both of them were buying into it. His charm had an excellent way of working like that and he hoped that it would make it easier to convince Hazel to become who he needed her to become. He would rather have taken the sweet, innocent Magnus but he was too young, and he wouldn't last five minutes in Area. Despite how it looked a lot of the time, Hazel was much tougher than she realised, but March could see it, he just needed to remove Magnus from the picture.

Vanessa remained as indifferent as ever, after much persuasion from March, she made a slight effort to bond with Hazel. She took her out shopping to choose her own clothes but it turned out that Hazel was completely clueless when it came to clothes shopping. Eventually Vanessa ended up picking out everything for her and demanding that she try them on. Unfortunately Hazel was only too happy to comply and act as Vanessa's personal fashion show and doll; the unfortunate thing was that this made Vanessa like her ever so slightly. She didn't want to like her, and she certainly didn't want to be smiling and laughing with her as she found herself doing whilst Hazel twirled around in a dark green dress.

One morning, Hazel and Magnus woke up early and met in the living room, still in their pyjamas. They found it strange that they suddenly had all of these plush facilities at their disposal and sometimes it threw them off a little bit. They both sat at the breakfast bar, neither March nor Vanessa had arrived yet, but Magnus was hungry so Hazel began to hunt through the kitchen cabinets for cereal, she couldn't remember where it was kept.

'What do you think of them?' Magnus asked and Hazel shrugged. Whilst her doubts were significantly less than they had been, they were still there.

'They're alright. I'm still not entirely sold on them though.' She told him honestly and his brow furrowed in confusion.

'Why not? I mean, look at all they've done for us. Why shouldn't we trust them?' Magnus asked and Hazel found the cereal.

'Because of everything they've done for us.' She said as she poured it into a bowl and fetched the milk from the fridge. She debated with herself as to whether she was hungry enough to eat when she remembered how days had gone by and hunger had taken deep root inside of her before, she hated remembeering that feeling and it seemed to bring on grumbles from her stomach so she poured herself a bowl too.

'What, so because they've looked out for us and clothed us and fed us and given us a place to live, you don't like them?' He contested, his voice was heated but his eyebrow was raised and Hazel didn't quite know how to interpret his tone so she simply shrugged and handed him his breakfast, cradling her own in her hands before setting it down opposite him and leaning against the counter to stand and eat.

'Come on Hazel, you know you're being paranoid.' Magnus scoffed as he took a spoonful and Hazel looked down at the cereal as she chewed suspiciously.

'I think I have good reason to be paranoid, Mags.' Hazel said quietly and Magnus stopped chewing for a second and diverted his full attention to him. 'I mean, what kind of people just pick up two kids off the street and give them a home? We know they want something in return but why won't they tell us what this thing is yet?' She asked him conspiratorially and he faltered slightly.

'They just want us to be settled first, then they'll ask for our help.' Magnus justified, returning to his cereal again.

'Yeah okay, but what if this whole criminal things isn't exactly, you know, legit?' She asked and he shrugged.

'These people are loaded, they'll be able to get us out of it.' He said and she raised an eyebrow.

'Yeah they'd be able to, but would they?' She muttered and Magnus pretended not to hear her, preferring to give his cereal his full attention.

After breakfast Magnus left to take a shower and Hazel cleaned up the bowls and dried them before putting them neatly away. She didn't know why but she was sure that she didn't want March and Vanessa to know that they had already been up, something didn't sit right with them and constant doubts jiggled in her brain intermingled with the gratefulness she felt towards them for saving her and her brother. She couldn't make up her mind whether to trust them or not.

She continued this internal debate as she too returned to her room to shower and then she picked out the green dress to wear that had amused Vanessa so much. She liked the way it matched her eyes, she decided that whilst she didn't know much about fashion, green was definitely her colour.

After she was dressed she blowed her hair dry and slipped into a pair of smart, lace-up, black boots. When she returned to the living area, March and Vanessa were sat chatting to Magnus and the decision to trust them finally won over Hazel. She looked at the way he seemed so at ease with them, it was almost like seeing him converse with their parents all over again, even though these people couldn't have been that much older than Hazel was herself. She watched them for a few more moments before they realised she was there and she decided that all of her earlier suspicions had been ridiculous, of course they could be trusted. And even if they couldn't and they got her into trouble, she was very good at getting herself out of it.

She walked over to the seating area and smiled at March and Vanessa, sitting down lightly besides Magnus.

'Good morning.' She smiled warmly and March stood up suddenly.

'Actually Hazel, before you get too comfortable, would you mind taking a walk with me in the garden?' He asked and she looked to Magnus, they barely left one another's side, but she remembered her resolve to trust them and she nodded brightly.

'Sure. It's a lovely day.' She commented and March drily agreed with her as they made their way out into the gardens. Hazel had predicted aptly that it was a lovely day, the sun was shining brightly and a soft breeze played through the flowers, wafting their sweet scent over Hazel and March comfortingly. They wandered in silence for a while, meandering through the flower beds until they were out of sight of the apartment and then March led Hazel to a bench and sat her down.

'Now, Hazel, do you remember that when we rescued you and your brother from the streets you agreed to help us in return?' March asked her and Hazel nodded slowly.

'Thinking like a criminal, yes.' She replied and March smiled at her.

'Yeah, something like that. Anyway, we're getting to the point where I'd like to start discussing your side of this bargain. In exchange for our care and protection, we'd like you to become someone for us.' He explained smoothly but Hazel was confused.

'I'm sorry, I don't understand what you mean.' She said and he sighed.

'Alright, let's rewind.' He said and coughed before repositioning himself to face her, he took her hands in his and looked at her with large, sorrowful eyes. She was taken more than a little by surprise.

'Your parents, they died in the New York attack, correct?' He asked and Hazel was stunned into silence at the sudden mention of her parents. She gaped at him, her mouth opening and closing as she tried to work out what to say.

'How did you…?' She began but found herself unable to finish. March shook his head sadly and held her hands tighter. Hers were beginning to sweat.

'Forgive me,' he replied quietly, 'in order to know you were the best possible person for this task I had to dig into your history a little bit. I'm sorry if it's painful.'

'No, I'm okay. It was just a bit of a shock. Yeah they died a couple years back. Why?' She asked, confused.

'Well, Vanessa and I belong to an institution who try to put right what's been made wrong. Especially by those group of vandals who call themselves the Avengers. They pretend to be so high and mighty with these excellent powers but really, people don't admire them, they're scared of them. Because they kill without a second thought, they can do things that people shouldn't be able to do. People don't need superheroes, they need real heroes. Someone better than the Avengers and can defeat them. The Avengers were the ones responsible for your parents deaths.' March said calmly and Hazel shook her head slowly.

'No, they were trying to help. Captain America himself tried to save my parents but he couldn't.' Hazel said and March sighed.

'The same Steve Rogers whose best friend has been killing a lot of people for the past few decades, a man who doesn't seem to age so can keep on killing. Hazel, we have to face that super soldiers are dangerous to this world, it needs to be protect by real people, people with morals.' March explained but Hazel was still confused.

'Whilst I still don't agree on the Avengers being the bad guys here, what are you saying? Where do I come into all of this?' She asked and March took a deep breath before continuing.

'We want you to become this real hero. We want you to track down the Winter Solider and take him out and then combat the Avengers. We need someone who has a vengeance against them, someone like you. Captain America didn't deflect that bomb, he threw it. He knew there were civilians that could get hurt and he still took the shot because that's what the greater good is to him, not every life, just a few.'

Hazel thought for a few moments and sighed as she realised that what March was saying was true, she would never forget seeing someone she thought was a hero turn into someone who must be a villain.

'How the hell can I even begin to become this person or whatever?' She asked and March felt a flicker of hope that he didn't dare hold onto.

'We have a serum…' He began but Hazel interrupted him.

'What? Like the Captain America serum? I did history I know stuff.' She objected but he shushed her, willing himself not to lose patience with her.

'Yes, it is similar. But it has been refined by much more advanced scientists and has been turned into something that won't turn you into a monster. You'll keep being you, you'll just become more able to take a hit.' He said and she thought for a second.

'I won't lie, it sounds scary.' She said in a small voice and he held her hands tighter still so she felt slightly uncomfortable.

'Hazel, your country, no, the world needs you to do this. You're our last hope, our last line of defence. You're my last hope.' He said to her with his wide, pleading eyes, the ones that so often worked and he knew wouldn't fail him.

Sure enough Hazel took a deep breath and looked back in the direction of the apartment. She would do anything to protect Magnus after what happened to their parents; but what if March was telling the truth and the Avengers were a threat to the world, how many more kids were there out in the world just like Magnus. There were so many people who needed protecting and if she sat back and did nothing then she would be just as bad as if she'd done the damage herself. She knew that she wouldn't be able to live with herself if she didn't at least try.

'Okay,' she sighed, 'I'm in.'

March grinned at her as he could feel his promotions returning to him, little did he know that Hazel was much stronger than he was anticipating.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

When the time came for Hazel to leave and make her way to a new facility she was already beginning to doubt her decision, but she also knew in her heart that she was a person of her word and she couldn't let down March and Vanessa after everything they'd done for her and Magnus. They were given ten minutes to say goodbye to one another whilst March and Vanessa waited in the kitchenette, within earshot of them and offering them no privacy.

'This is the right call, right Magnus?' Hazel asked quietly and shot a wary glance at March and Vanessa.

'They have done so much for us, we owe it to them and besides this is completely awesome! You're going to be turned into some kind of modern superhero. I wish they'd asked me to do it.' Magnus didn't bother to lower his voice but March and Vanessa pretended to be engaged in their own conversation quietly.

'I'm glad they didn't. They've said they'll continue to look after you and you'll have somewhere safe to stay whilst I'm away. I don't know when we'll see one another next.' Hazel was worried about their separation.

'Hey, don't worry, I'll be fine. Vanessa mentioned to me that they're going to try and get me back into education. Hazel they might be able to give me my future back too, they're really only trying to help us so stop worrying.' Magnus instructed her and she looked into his eyes for a moment. They were warm and he was smiling at her, she knew that he genuinely believed in these two people and so she also knew that she had to follow his lead. She sighed and finally let go of all of her doubts.

'You're right.' She smiled weakly and took his hands. 'I just wish we didn't have to be split up.'

'It's probably to avoid distraction for the both of us. Maybe some time apart would be good, this way we can just focus on ourselves and make something of ourselves.' He explained casually giving her hands a slight squeeze.

'Since when did you get so profound?' Hazel laughed lightly but the idea of being separated made her anxious.

'Wrap it up guys.' March called softly and they turned to look at him for a second before returning their attention to one another. There was fear in both of their eyes at being separated but both also smiled in an attempt to comfort the other.

'We're going to be fine.' Magnus told her and Hazel wrapped her arms around him and held him tightly.

'No matter where we are, together or apart, I will always do everything in my power to protect you. I won't ever abandon you, okay? That's a promise.' She whispered into his ear and he smiled into her hair.

'I know. I love you, sis.' He replied and she returned her affections. March and Vanessa were there now and Hazel and Magnus were made to separate.

'Unfortunately time is up, we need to get moving. There are cars outside, one each.' March explained and the siblings nodded. They walked from their temporary home hand in hand and gave each others hand one final squeeze of comfort before separating into different cars. Each car had a driver and a colleague of March's escorted Magnus away. Vanessa sat in the back with Hazel whilst March sat in the passenger seat in the front.

'Apologies Hazel but we have certain security protocols.' Vanessa told her in a flat tone as she reached down under her seat to retrieve a small box, she opened the box and Hazel caught sight of a syringe inside. 'You can't know exactly where you're going so I'm going to give you a small injection, you'll simply fall asleep and wake feeling refreshed.'

She removed the syringe from the box and Hazel obediently held out her arm, resolving to do whatever was needed of her. Vanessa injected the contents of the syringe and Hazel immediately felt drowsy, she allowed her eyes and close and the world to slip away from her.

When she awoke the first thing she was aware of was the softness of the bed she was lying on. She slowly sat up and took in her surroundings, she was in a fairly simple room furnished in grey, modern furniture. The large double bed stood in the centre of the room opposite a silver wardrobe and chest of drawers. To the left of the bed Hazel looked out of a large window which overlooked a large forest that seemed to have no end. A door stood slightly ajar to the right of the wardrobe where she could see an en-suite bathroom and another door stood firmly shut directly to the right of the bed. Aside from a large, light grey rug on the darker grey floor there were no other decorations. It was simple and modern and moderately luxurious but Hazel couldn't shake the sense of feeling like she was in a prison cell.

She had only been sat, adjusting to her new home for a couple of minutes before the door was opened and Vanessa swept in with a small entourage of people in identical uniforms.

'Hi, Hazel.' Vanessa greeted her with a tight smile and then gestured to the others. 'These are some of my colleagues and people who we'll be working with. Michael, your trainer, Louise and Clarissa, your stylists, Sophia, your dietician and Ted, your medical assistant.'

As each of them were introduced they gave her a curt nod and the same tight smile that Vanessa wore and Hazel stood and smiled at all of them.

'A medical assistant? That sounds ominous.' She joked and Vanessa broadened her smile.

'Let's hope it's never anything too serious. But let's just say Michael doesn't go easy, even on beginners.' She grinned and, taking it as a joke, Hazel let out a small chuckle in response. 'Let's get to the tour.'

Vanessa took hold of Hazel's arm and guided her out of the room, the entourage followed but remained silent. They walked through pristine corridors that seemed to be designed like some kind of maze, Hazel was sure she would never be able to navigate them without a guide and then it crossed her mind that, that was the idea.

'Where we came from was your quarters, you'll remain there unless you're needed for anything else. You get two meals a day which you'll take in the training centre with Michael and Sophia, they'll carefully monitor your diet to keep you feeling your best.' She explained and Hazel didn't reply, simply nodded. They approached a large window overlooking what resembled an aeroplane hangar with different activities apparently stationed around the walls; a large mat stood in the middle of the room and Hazel noted the different stations. There was one with various firearms, one with knives and swords, some kind of assault course and various gymnastic equipment.

'This is the training centre, as you can see your days are going to be less than dull.' Vanessa smiled and Hazel nodded and returned the smile.

'This is all starting to sink in a little bit now.' She replied and Vanessa grinned.

'Good.' She chirped and led the way on with the tour. They walked down a short corridor and Vanessa opened a door but didn't go in, simply allowing Hazel to see the inside of what looked like an interrogation room. There was a metal table and chair in the centre of the room and a small cabinet in one corner but that was it. It was dimly lit and gave Hazel chills down her spine.

'This is the discipline room. Let's hope you don't end up in here. You won't as long as you follow the rules and do what you're told.' Vanessa explained to her lightly and Hazel nodded firmly.

'I have no intention of making this a regular stopping point.' She replied and Vanessa gave her another smile but this one seemed like it had something behind it, something that Hazel couldn't place.

They continued down the labyrinth of corridors and Vanessa let them into a large room which was almost the scariest room Hazel had seen so far. There was a large bath tub in one corner and a pedestal in the middle of the room, a rack ran along one wall and large mirrors in another corner. Along another wall was a table laden with various tools and equipment of which none was familiar to Hazel.

'What's this room for?' Hazel asked quietly and Vanessa gently pushed her inside, following with Louise and Clarissa, the others left.

'This is the stylist quarters. No need to be scared, but we're all going to become very good friends very quickly. This is where we're stopping today and we're going to begin right here and right now. I hope you don't embarrass too easily.' Vanessa attempted to be comforting but her smooth voice betrayed her ulterior motives.

'This place, it's almost like an army base.' Hazel commented as Louise and Clarissa turned to the bath tub and began to run it and add different lotions. 'Why do you need a styling room?'

Vanessa took her arm and led her over to the bath tub.

'We aren't just trying to help you, we need the public too. We need to create an image for you that fits with current trends. We want to create a girl who other girls want to be and guys want to be with. We basically need to create the most desirable person on the planet, that's why we need this room. Now, strip.' She grinned playfully and Hazel suddenly felt very self-conscious.

'Can I get a low down of what's going to be done to me?' She asked, trying to keep her tone light.

'I'll explain as we go, but remember what I said about doing as you're told? You don't want to end up in discipline on your first day, do you?' Vanessa asked and there was a tinge of a warning in her voice. Hazel swallowed her pride and nodded quickly.

'You're right, I mean, I guess you know best.' She said and began to undress. Once she was naked she tried her hardest to repress the blush but she couldn't.

'Don't worry,' Louise said to her comfortingly, 'it's nothing we haven't seen before.'

She didn't know why but these words seemed to reassure her and Hazel was able to let go of her worries. She allowed her body to be smothered in various lotions and her hair to be pinned up out of the way before her legs and underarms were shaved. She imagined this wasn't the most pleasant job but Louise and Clarissa never even showed any sign of discomfort. They asked her polite questions and made conversations with warm smiles on their faces the whole time whilst Vanessa watched over the whole thing and gradually, Hazel felt more and more at ease.

They removed her from the bath and wrapped in her a fluffy, white robe before placing a reclining chair by the tub and seating her in it.

'Now what's going on?' Hazel couldn't stop herself from asking and she saw Vanessa shoot her a glance but she pretended to ignore it.

'We want to bring out something in you with your hair. Let's have a look at your eyes.' Louise explained and tilted her chin upwards to let her eyes catch the light. 'Bubble-gum.' She concluded and Clarissa nodded her agreement before turning away and moving out of Hazel's sight.

'You're dying my hair?' She asked warily.

'Yes.' Vanessa replied smoothly and Hazel allowed her hair to be washed through by Louise whilst Clarissa prepared the dye.

'But why? I mean I get that image is important to an extent but what good does hair colour do to a superhero or whatever you're turning me into?' She asked.

'It's important because we want you to jump out. We can't let the Avengers steal your spotlight now, can we?' Vanessa responded and her voice was tight and forced.

'Can I at least get a say in the colour?' Hazel requested.

'We probably know best, dear.' Louise told her with a friendly smile before shooting a look at Vanessa. 'You probably want to stop asking so many questions, just let us do our thing.' She whispered so Vanessa couldn't hear and Hazel knew it was a warning.

She silently allowed them to dye her hair and cut it into a short bob around her chin with a full fringe. When she caught sight of herself in the mirror she couldn't help but gasp in surprise, her hair was bright pink. She hated it but allowed herself to be guided to a metal chair which was placed upon the pedestal. Her nails were manicured and painted a glossy pink and then Vanessa took over. Louse and Clarissa rushed about collecting things for her whilst she applied make up to Hazel's face. Hazel failed to see the use of make up if she was in any kind of situation where she would have to use the weapons she had seen in the training centre but she kept her mouth shut, remembering her warning.

She wasn't able to see how she looked before she was stripped of her robe and dressed in her superhero costume, or what little there was of it. She was given thigh-high heeled boots which were dark pink, underwear which was barely covered by her pants which matched the boots in colour, and finally a crop top which was barely more than a brassiere. She had never felt colder or more ridiculous in her life. When she was finally allowed to look at her reflection she saw someone she no longer recognised. She looked like a cross between a cartoon character from a kids show and a prostitute.

'What do you think?' Vanessa asked her, smiling at her in the mirror and for a moment Hazel saw a hint of wickedness in her features and genuine fear surged through her. This wasn't at all what she had signed up for but the discipline room rung through her mind and the knowledge that they had Magnus somewhere else. The idea that this hadn't been an act of kindness after all only now entered her mind and she realised that she and Magnus had been used. The second she realised this however, she somehow resolved to follow every order given her, to do whatever was required of her. In Vanessa's face she saw the threat that was held over Magnus, they had separated them so they could use his fate over her. This was her fate now, she was to become whatever they wanted her to become. So she put on a brave smile and her winning, bright smile and replied sweetly.

'I love it.'


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Luckily, Hazel wasn't required to stay in her costume at all times and was almost immediately stripped of it once she'd seen it. Instead she was clothed in a grey tank top and black leggings which were easier to move in. Her new fringe brushed against her forehead so that it itched but she did her best to ignore it, when she couldn't and she reached up to rub her forehead and relieve the itching, she received a measured glare from Vanessa.

'So, we're going to get you fed now, and then after your meal you'll go and start with Michael, sound good?' Vanessa asked brusquely and Hazel nodded her agreement. She hadn't noticed how hungry she was until Vanessa had mentioned food. They made their way through the labyrinth until they reached a small room similar to the discipline room except there was no cabinet. Hazel took the seat that was pointed out for her and Sophia and Ted entered the room a moment later.

Sophia was carrying a disappointingly small tray of greyish food and Ted held a small box that reminded Hazel of the one Vanessa had kept the syringe in used to knock her out in the car. Her heart began to beat a little faster. There was only one chair opposite her and Ted took this whilst Sophia stood by the door, ready to observe her subject eat its first meal.

'Can I borrow your arm please, before you eat?' Ted asked lightly and Hazel slowly held out her arm to him. Ted opened the box and sure enough there was a small syringe inside. The liquid inside the syringe was blue and seemed to be glowing slightly, but Hazel was unsure whether that was due to the lack of light in the room and the reflection of the glass. Ted picked it up and held it out in front of her, he smiled at her tightly and looked her in the eye even though she could tell he'd rather just get the job done and leave.

'I'm glad you're learning not to ask questions, but I will explain to you what this is. I'm sure you'd like to know.' Ted said softly and Hazel nodded.

'This is not a supersoldier serum, you're not going to be turned into Captain America, unfortunately we don't have that kind of technology. But this is our version of it. It doesn't have long term effects, they only last for the maximum of a few hours but we're working on it. Unless Tony Stark decides to give up his dad's formula it's all we have for now. You're going to take it with your breakfast and between training sessions and it might feel a little weird at first but you'll eventually get used to it. Your body will adapt. Despite any side effects of this medication you will still be expected to perform all your duties. Any deviation from instructions will result in discipline.'

'Basically, I'm going to feel like crap but I've got to suck it up or else I'll be punished?' Hazel summarised and she thought she saw Ted's smile soften.

'Right. Do you mind?' He leaned forward and she watched with a grimace as he inserted the needle into her arm and injected the shimmering blue liquid into her veins. For a moment she felt fire surging through her arm but it passed and then she felt nothing.

'Alright, go ahead and eat now. I'll leave you in Sophia's capable hands. I'll probably see you later, after your training session with Michael.'

'Okay, thanks.' Hazel replied and retracted her arm. She had expected there to be more drama to it than that, but she decided just to be thankful that she didn't seem to be suffering any of these side effects. She began to eat quickly and was slowed by Sophia who insisted she eat a little at a time, saying it would make work better. Hazel didn't question what the food was or how it was working for her but she did as she was told.

It was around halfway through the meal that she began to feel queasy and by the end of it her head felt very hot. She forced herself to stand after she'd sat for ten minutes as she was told and found her legs were wobbly too. She was unsure how she was going to be able to undergo a training session when she was struggling to stand. Thankfully, the rhythm of her feet as she walked to the training centre helped to stabilise her a little bit. Her head was still woozy and she felt nauseous but her legs felt a little firmer. Her arm was beginning to hurt though and felt like it had been punched repeatedly.

Once they reached the training centre Vanessa took her arm and took her pulse. She smiled reassuringly and nodded.

'You're doing good. Now I'm going to leave you with Michael, but I'll be watching from up there with March, okay? Good luck.' She gave Hazel a gentle push towards Michael who was walking towards them from the middle of the centre and Hazel tried to reorient herself as she walked to meet him. It wasn't until she really walked out into the hangar that she realised how large it was, she felt tiny.

'Hey,' Michael greeted her cheerily with a grin and for the first time, Hazel felt like there was someone who wasn't hiding something from her.

'Hi,' she replied with the best smile she could muster despite the growing feeling of illness in her.

'So, I guess we're going to be spending a lot of time together and we didn't really get to introduce ourselves properly earlier. I'm Mike.' He smiled and held out a hand, she took it a shook it lightly. A second later she was on her back on the floor and blinking to try and dispel the stars dancing in front of her eyes.

'I'm sorry that was mean.' Mike was laughing as he held out a hand to help her up. 'Lesson number one though, always be prepared. I won't do it again I promise.'

Hazel reached up to take his hand but found herself slammed into a similar position as before, this time with Mike on top of her pinning her in place.

'Lesson number two, never trust a promise?' Hazel asked and Mike grinned.

'Fast learner, I like that. Come on.' He hopped off of her and she pulled herself, already aching from her first two defeats.

'So hand to hand is complicated, it's going to take time to learn and a lot of practice.' Mike explained as he walked towards the centre of the room with Hazel in tow. 'Then there's guns and knives and swords and all sorts. But hand to hand is the crucial element of your training, you're always going to have yourself whereas you might not have a gun or a knife. You don't need a weapon to kill someone.'

'I'm not being trained to kill people though, right? I mean, the Avengers don't kill people.'

'Don't they?'

'Not intentionally, I mean…' Hazel began but then remembered the image of her mother's lifeless hand reaching out from underneath the rubble.

'I know your history, I'm sorry.' Mike said quietly as Hazel bowed her head and took a couple of deep breaths. 'But aren't you angry? That's why you're here. You're going to take out the Avengers because they're dangerous. And then you and everyone else get to have a safe and comfortable life.' He told her softly and she looked up at him with fierce eyes.

'Do I get to start with Captain America or do you throw me right in the deep end and I start with Hulk?' She asked and he smiled.

'I'm glad you have a sense of humour, I hope I don't break that.'

'Me too,' she sighed and shrugged. 'So how do we start?'

As the next few hours progressed Hazel felt steadily more unwell, her muscles ached and her head throbbed but she did her best to do everything Michael told her. She proved quickly that she had no experience in hand to hand combat and little acumen in it, so Michael decided to test her skills with weapons. She showed little hope there either, she missed every mark with a variety of firearms and struggled to keep the balance with knives and swords resulting in some sloppy work and a small cut to her hand. Michael began to insist on calling for Ted but she brushed it off, claiming it wasn't even bleeding anymore.

March and Vanessa watched from above, from the window where Hazel had first been shown the training centre and March began to worry.

'God she's a train wreck.' He groaned and Vanessa shrugged.

'She looks the part, we knew we were going to have some work to do but at least she's cute and desirable.'

'You're only saying that to cover your own ass, that was your half of the job.'

'No, my half of the job is to oversee all this, to organise it all. In fact, I do at least eighty-percent of the job whilst you do very little.'

'I have to sell her to the board, at this rate that's at least forty percent.'

'But still not half.' They smiled weakly at each other but they were both secretly worried. Hazel was not performing as well as they'd hoped and they could see that Mike was going easy on her. When she cut her hand March groaned and leaned back in his chair but Vanessa narrowed her eyes.

'Wait, look.' She instructed and March ran his hand through his hair and resumed giving her his attention.

'What?'

'I know Michael, he's a stickler for procedure and procedure says Ted should be called. But she's refusing, she's carrying on without help.' Vanessa explained quietly as she read the situation. Mike seemed to reluctantly nod and then they moved back to the training mat to fit in a few more exercises before Hazel had to leave. March leaned forward in his chair and Vanessa thought she saw a ghost of a smile on his lips.

'Maybe this girl has more promise than we thought.' He commented as Hazel lunged at Mike and practiced an attack move on him, blood smeared across his shirt.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Hazel thought that over time her job would get easier, like a job in retail was supposed to get easier on the feet once you'd done it every day for a few months, but it never did. Nine months passed and each day went slower and was filled with more agony than she had ever thought she could endure. The serum was injected at various points throughout the day and then her symptoms and reactions were noted by the medical team and she noticed how they subtly tweaked things so that she never really got used to it, she was always unwell. She fought against the nausea and the fatigue and, to an extent, it did get a little easier; but as the serum was adapted her body fought against it more and more and she often wondered if it would ever reject it completely. Every day brought about the new fear that maybe it would be the day that her body would just give up, that it would shut down completely and she would be left to die. She wondered if March and his team would allow that and just move onto the next candidate, would anyone fight for her?

Her personal appearance was kept to the utmost levels of pristine. She was well-groomed every single day and the costume was tried on at least once a day but she barely fought in it, it was more for appearances sake than anything else. She hated the grooming sessions even more than the personal training sessions, at least when she was training or fighting she had a sort of purpose, she didn't like being prodded and poked and made over again and again, it felt pointless and she felt like she was being ridiculed. The serum had given her a sort of shimmer across her skin that the styling team weren't fond of and so it was being worked out by the science team and Hazel was stuck in the middle of it, she didn't care either way.

In fact, the only solace she really had was when she was training with Mike. After a few months' it became much easier to ignore the pain of the serum and after a month or so more her body even began to adapt to it without her even really being aware. She grew stronger and faster and less inclined to feel pain and she didn't entirely notice it in herself, but the small changes were obvious to everyone else and it gave them hope.

Her aim improved as her eyes grew sharper and more focused, she got a little better with guns and ranged weapons but it was clear that she still wasn't too keen on using them and that she would never choose them as her first weapons. She was ultimately much better with knives and swords, her favourites were the Second-World-War-Style fighting knives which were longer than tactical knives, like daggers, but were lighter and easier to manipulate than short swords. Mike wasn't keen on these knives as he termed them outdated, but he couldn't deny that it was with this style of knife that she showed the most promise in her fighting skills.

Her body grew more toned and her muscles were more defined as she worked and trained in combination with her serum but she retained her slightness which gave her an advantage over Mike who was much bigger. She was able to dodge and weave his attacks more and could get closer to him without taking much damage which meant she had more of an opportunity to use her knives, but it also meant that she wasn't as strong as he was. If she was disarmed then she lost her advantage and her hand-to-hand combat had to be worked on constantly in order to help her find an advantage if she found herself in a sticky spot with someone larger than her.

In the entire nine months of training, she never once beat Mike in a fight. March was beginning to grow desperate as he longed to fulfil a first actual mission, Vanessa tried to put his mind at ease as she reminded him that it was a long process and Hazel needed to be completely ready before she could go on any real missions but he was uneasy about the situation. His reports back to the director were often filled with promises and he wasn't coming through with any of them yet. He didn't like the illusion of lies.

On this particular day she was working with Mike and had finished all of the training exercises they usually ran through before going through an actual fight scenario. Hazel walked around the edge of the fight area, keeping herself warm and fighting off the nausea as she took deep breaths, cracking her knuckles and looking over her arms which shone with the shimmer of the serum mixed with the sheen of her sweat.

March and Vanessa watched from their usual vantage point over the hangar, and March was tapping his foot impatiently.

'The director wants to know when we can present her to the board.' he told Vanessa for the third time and she sighed, prepared to have the same conversation again and knowing it wouldn't come out any differently.

'Just tell them the truth, tell them that she's still in training and the serum hasn't kicked in yet. If you're honest with them they might give us more funding, more resources.' she suggested and March scoffed.

'That's now how this is going to go, if I tell them she's not making any progress they'll pull the plug, chuck us all out of this project and redirect us elsewhere.' he said and something suddenly clicked in Vanessa's brain.

'What would happen to her?' she asked, nodding to Hazel as she made a joke which cause Mike to laugh so they had to postpone the beginning of their fight for another few minutes.

'I don't know, either killed or thrown back out onto the streets where she would probably die since her body is so dependent on the serum by this point.' he replied with a distinct lack of interest, he didn't care what happened to Hazel, it was just about how this all looked on him.

Vanessa looked down at the bright girl who was grinning and adding to her jokes so that Mike was almost bent double laughing and she felt a pang of pity in her heart. She had personally been overseeing Magnus' safety and she knew how much the boy doted on his big sister, she didn't want to see either of them suffer. When she had signed up for her position here, she had thought she would be helping people, not setting them up for failure. She sighed and looked down at March with a sad smile as he lounged in his chair like a petulant child.

'Perhaps today will be the day then.' she said quietly, hopefully. March took a deep breath and looked for a moment like he was in deep thought before leaning forward in his chair and pressing a button on the wall suddenly, Vanessa watched him and expertly masked her curiosity and surprise at his sudden movement, he didn't usually get involved in the training sessions.

'Mike, can we try scenario number one today, please.' he requested before leaning back in his chair, Vanessa raised an eyebrow and shared the surprise that Mike seemed to be displaying down in the training area.

'One? Really?' she asked and March nodded intently.

'It'll be the first assignment she gets once she's gone through the board, Mike's trained himself up to the right place, might as well put it to good use.' he muttered, running his hand over his clean-shaven chin and doing a poor job of disguising his stress.

Down in the training area, Mike turned back to Hazel and she knew the time for joking was over, they needed to get back to work. She raised an eyebrow and took a swig of water as she prepared for a fight.

'What's scenario one?' she asked as she reproached the mat and twirled her knives in her hands.

'Put your knives into your holsters we're starting from an unknown encounter.' Mike explained and she obeyed him as he went to retrieve his own weapons. Hazel never put much effort into learning about the guns, only how they worked and how much they would hurt her shoulder. He passed her a handgun which she tucked into her holster and then passed her two smaller knives which she placed into her lower holsters, they were meant for last resort defence. For himself, Mike took a larger gun, a handgun and a small knife which he concealed easily, she knew she wasn't meant to know where it was, it would be a surprise. When she was ready and they were stood in the centre of the mat he looked at her seriously and she tried to offer him a smile.

'Is it really that bad?' she asked gently and he shook his head.

'It just means that you're getting close to being offered a mission. I personally disagree, but let's see if you can beat me.' he told her quietly and she knew that he didn't want March to overhear him telling her this. She raised an eyebrow and he took a step back, motioning the scientists to come forward with the serum.

'Before we give you an injection, I need to know, what do you know about the Winter Solider?' he asked and Hazel felt uneasy, she shrugged.

'I've seen him in the news and stuff, he fought Captain America at one point but I remember reading in school they were friends back in the forties or something.' she said slowly as her arm was prepared.

'Okay, you know what he looks like, good. Today the serum is slightly altered for this scenario, don't be alarmed okay, it's gonna give you slight hallucinations.' he explained and Hazel jerked her arm away from the needle suddenly.

'Wait, what kind of hallucinations?' she asked and Mike gave her a reassuring smile.

'It'll just be me, I promise, and if things get out of hand then I'll stop, but you're going to see me as the Winter Soldier.' he said and Hazel's arm was grabbed and restrained as the needle was slid into her vein. She hissed at the sudden scratch and looked at Mike with wide eyes. She was frightened but she knew she couldn't complain, she knew that if she was reaching this point then it was time for her to start accepting this was her new life; this was no longer a training programme, she was almost there.

A bright light flashed suddenly in front of her eyes and she shut her eyes, shying away from it and covering her face, knowing that when she opened her eyes again things would be different. She blinked a few times as she opened her eyes and found herself in an old courtyard, like a palace, somewhere that should be open for the public and not the scene of the battle she knew was coming. The sun was warm, unpleasantly warm, she was somewhere foreign, something in the serum clicked and a plethora of languages that might be useful to her flooded her brain. She grimaced in pain with the impact of the sudden information before she saw movement in the shadows.

She knew that none of this was real, that it was all a dream concocted by the drugs in her system, but she also knew that they wanted her to treat it like it was real and it was easier just to pretend it was. She didn't know how they would bring her back, how she would snap herself out of it when the fight was over no matter who won. She racked her brain as she tried to think of what he had told her, her instructor, she couldn't even remember his name. This was horrible, how could they have just transported her brain like this, altered it so badly that she couldn't remember the name of the man she had just been talking to. The more she tried to think about him the more he faded from her memory until she could barely remember who or what she was thinking about.

She put a hand to her forehead and looked around the courtyard again. There was columns and pillars around the edges, a good place for cover and a nice spot of shade so she could try and work out some of the mess in her head. She did a full circle, remembering her training, checking for every exit and entrance point, always alert and waiting for an attack. She remembered the gun in her holster and the knives strapped to her hips and shins and she smiled, she was prepared for any danger.

She turned slowly and when she turned back there was a man stood where he hadn't been stood before. Her eyes connected with the eyes of the Winter Soldier and something lurched in her chest, a pity maybe, but it ached. She froze for a moment, her hands suspended at her sides with the appearance of being calm but really she was ready to grab her weapons in an instant, there would be no hesitation. She looked him up and down, doing a mental scan and searching for weak points.

'It's time.' he said roughly and her gun was drawn before his was even pointed at her. She fired two shots which he dived out of the way to avoid, crouching and rolling, bringing his rifle up to his shoulder as he came back up into a crouch. Hazel lurched suddenly to a pillar as machine gun fired around her, scattering her surroundings with debris from the stone pillar. She covered her head and tried to strategise her next move, she was prepared for this she knew, she was a good fighter. Now she had to prove it. She waited for the gunfire to cease, keeping completely still and not fearing as the stone sprayed around her. She checked how many bullets she had left, nine, plenty. She smiled to herself and took a deep breath before coming around the corner quickly, prepared as he opened fire. She slid to the ground quickly, avoiding the fire by millimetres and didn't even break momentum as she continued to rush towards him.

Realising she wasn't going to stop, he dropped the gun and she brought hers up level with his chest. As she fired a shot he batted her hand down and it missed him and she lost control of the gun, it fell to the floor and it was down to her hand to hand skills. The gun had been in her right hand and she now reached for her knife with her left, not wasting a second as she pulled it from its holster, throwing it up ever so slightly just to give it enough momentum to catch it and bring it up across her forearm, protecting herself from any counter attack he had. He brought up his own arm in defence, giving her the opportunity to grab her other knife from her hip holster with her right hand.

She brought her hand up quickly and began to stab at him but he batted away her every attack, taking a few moments to work out her fighting pattern before he could even begin to think about fighting back. She looked into his eyes as she moved forward, backing him towards the wall and grunting a little with every inflection. He looked concerned for a moment before his back nearly hit the wall and then he reached out and, instead of batting her hand away like he had been doing, he grabbed her wrist and twisted her arm suddenly behind her back.

She yelled out in shock and pain and her hand opened involuntarily, dropping one of her knives. Now she was down a knife and a gun and she was having to seriously rethink her strategy. She flipped her other knife in her hand and stabbed behind her shoulder, but she couldn't get an angle to hit him. She knew in the back of her mind that this was all a test and she could call a loss at any moment but she refused to give in, she wanted to win.

Instead of focusing on the knife she decided to use the wall to her advantage again and began to drive her elbow back, over and over, not really doing him any damage but forcing him back against the wall until she had him pinned. He grunted right into her ear and she knew she had him, so she managed to twist herself around again so she was facing him and she brought up her left hand again with the knife but he was ready.

He grabbed her wrist and moved quickly to switch their positions, pinning her against the wall instead with his metal arm around her wrist so she couldn't move it with the knife. She dropped the knife, intending to catch it with her other hand but he grabbed her other hand and pinned her there completely, his body pressed against hers for extra security. In that moment he could have ended it all, killed her right there or at least admitting his success, but he paused and cocked his head slightly as if waiting for orders or listening.

He turned his attention back to her and looked at her for a moment before speaking in a low voice.

'Что делаешь?' _What are you doing?_ he asked and she raised an eyebrow.

'Что вы имеете в виду?' _What do you think?_ she asked in return and he smiled slightly.

'Ты здесь, чтобы убить меня?' _Are you here to kill me?_ She thought for a moment before she smiled back at him again and she knew that this was her real test.

'Da.' she grinned and brought her knee up suddenly so it collided with his chest and as she did so she grabbed her knife out of her holster. She was down to two knives and she knew she needed to make them count.

He grabbed her ankle and twirled her suddenly so she skidded back across the dusty floor through the sand. She managed to keep her hand around the knife and her eyes protected against the sand as she came up in a cloud of dust. He was ready for her now though and had the upper hand as he lunged at her, she barely had enough time to twist herself out of the way and stop him from pulling her down into the dust and instead she stood up quickly and turned her momentum into a kick which caught him neatly in the jaw. He reeled for a moment but caught himself before she could continue her attack and he blocked her swipes at him before the fight devolved into a pretty fair display of hand to hand combat.

They parried against one another, each expecting the other to get tired eventually but they were an equal match and nothing was going to deter the other. Hazel was starting to grow desperate, although of course she didn't show it, but she needed to get the upper hand somehow, she had to complete her mission it was her driving force. She knew that if she didn't complete this mission then she would be put into discipline, she couldn't wind up there, she couldn't risk letting Magnus down. He knocked the knife from her hand and she brought her arms up in defense, allowing herself to move back a little and give herself some space.

She gave him the illusion of having the upper hand for a moment as she tried to analyse where the best point of attack would be, she pulled in all of her skills and mashed them together. He stopped suddenly and took a step back, his eyes widening in surprise as her eyes flashed a brilliant, shining blue and her skin seemed to shimmer brighter than ever, the illusion was almost shattered but he attacked again quickly, trying to mask his moment of pause. Now, Hazel was ready.

She lunged forward suddenly and moved faster than she'd ever moved before, it was almost like a dance as she darted around him, trying to gain the upper hand and succeeding. He couldn't keep up with her, she was stronger than before and seemed to be fueled with something extra. He tried to fight back, he tried to keep up with her but he was tiring quickly and she was showing no signs of slowing.

He made one last attempt, he came down low and went for her legs but by the time his legs were stretched out on the ground where hers had been, she was gone. In one, swift movement she had twirled around to his other side and removed her final knife, she now held it up to his throat and touched it with the cold steel. He froze and the fight was over, she had won.

He looked up at her with his dark eyes, panting for breath with his hair falling across his face in strands. He smiled at her and once again she felt something lurch in her chest, she tried to remember what she knew about this man in spite of herself. She knew that he had been tortured, that he had been brainwashed into doing what he had done, but it didn't excuse his crimes, he was her target and now she had to kill him.

She wrenched her own brain back into the present, to where she was and what her purpose was. She blocked out any emotions and raised her knife, ready to strike in the next second.

'Magnus.' the Winter Soldier said softly, his smile widening with a hint of fear in his eyes but he was doing his best to mask it. A pain shot through her head and she blinked back sudden tears as her hand began to shake.

'What? How do you...?' she breathed and the fear dissipated from his eyes to be replaced with what she could only identify as trust.

'Magnus, Hazel, remember Magnus.' he said softly and the knife fell from her shaking hand and she backed away with tears pouring down her cheeks. Another pain shot through her head and it was so sharp she squeezed her eyes shut and cried out as she fell to her knees. She panted for breath as she slowly opened her eyes, still clutching her head in her hands as she tried to re-orient herself and the memories from the simulation slotted back into place amongst her regular thoughts.

'Hazel? Hazel...' arms encircled her shoulders and she wanted to shake them off but she felt weak, she looked up sharply and saw Mike stood by her, trying to comfort her.

'My brother... you used my brother's name...' she panted and he pulled her to his chest.

'It was the only thing we could think of that would pull you out effectively.' he told her in hushed tones and she began to calm a little as her thoughts slowly made more sense. Mike looked up at the observation window where Vanessa was looking concerned but March was grinning ear to ear. He turned to Vanessa like a schoolboy with the prospect of an extended Christmas break.

'She's ready.'


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Once March had decided that Hazel was ready everything moved quickly, Vanessa tried to convince him that it was too soon and that she wasn't ready but March wouldn't listen to anybody once he had an idea in his mind. Hazel's training was increased to ensure she kept up her physical abilities and she regained her sense of humour before too long. Seeing March enthusiastic and excited was good for the whole base, it brought everyone's spirits up; Hazel especially preferred this side of him to the brooding, angry March she had known for so long as he'd begun to lose hope with her. But she also had the dreams.

She knew they were probably caused by some kind of anxiety, a fear that since things were moving so fast now she would soon be exposed to the public and would have to become that superhero that she was expected to be and she already knew who her first target would be. When she was released into her room at night she opened her laptop and began to search for information on the Winter Soldier. She knew that everything she did on her laptop was monitored, that they knew exactly what she was searching and what she was reading, but she hoped they would count it as research. She wanted to learn everything she possibly could about this man, so she spent a solid couple of hours every night scrolling through information before she finally had to admit defeat and fell into a fitful sleep.

The most recurring dream was what she imagined some kind of gala to be. She was dressed in a long, silky dress, the colour of violets, it flowed about her, not quite accepting the laws of gravity as she meandered through the crowds of people who were all wearing masks. She could vaguely recognise people she knew, March and Vanessa, Magnus in a corner, but she would be searching for Mike, knowing it was time to dance. The crowd would part suddenly and Mike would be stood in the middle of the dance-floor, not wearing a mask like her but dressed in an expensive tuxedo. He smiled at her and held out his hand, beckoning her forward. She felt shy as she approached him but she couldn't do anything else, everything was quiet as she met him in the middle of the floor but when her hand touched his the bells started, tinkling out the beginning of their song.

'Dancing is just like fighting, the two are interchangeable.' he whispered into her ear and she allowed her nerves to float away as he took her waist and she rested her hand on his shoulder. They moved seamlessly into the waltz which was slow at first as she got her bearings but it began to pick up a little as the two of them melted into their movements and glided across the floor. The music seemed sad, it was like a Russian lullaby, a yearning for something forgotten, something in the past. It built suddenly into a crescendo and Mike let her go suddenly so she went spinning across the floor, she spun for so long and so fast that she thought that she would keep spinning on forever until the world was nothing more than a dizzying blur, but arms caught her.

The first time she had the dream she expected to be back in Mike's arms, that he would be her saviour and protector; the next time she forgot who it was and expected it to be March, then Magnus, she always forgot who she was, who her saviour would always be. When she stopped spinning there would be a pause in the music as she caught her breath, just for a moment as she looked up into the eyes of her new partner, and she would be met with the dark eyes of James Buchanan Barnes.

They would consider each other for a moment, she would look up at him with large, confused eyes and he gave her a soft smile in return and she felt comforted. Then the music lurched again, picking up as if it had never stopped, maybe it hadn't, maybe time had just stopped for the two of them as they considered one another; but when it rose again they began to move instantly. They whirled across the floor, moving together perfectly in unison without ever missing a step.

Hazel felt weightless, she felt strangely safe in his arms, she felt protected and calm and even though the music was loud and devastating she knew it would always be a song that fit them both perfectly. She was aware that she was crying in the dream but he kept giving her that soft smile and she didn't know why she fought against the overwhelming emotion that she was trying so hard to repress. She didn't know why she felt so broken inside, all she felt was the movement of their feet and she wanted to keep dancing forever.

As the music slowed so did they until they came to the middle of the dance-floor and the bells resumed, bringing the song back down to it's original sound and marking the end of their dance. They stood opposite one another without touching but remaining close and he reached up with both hands and wiped away her tears, her cheeks were instantly dry but he didn't move his hands and she didn't dare move. He leaned down slowly and just at the moment she thought he was going to kiss her the dream evaporated and she was left alone in a cold, empty hall still in her ballgown.

The dream wasn't over but it already felt like something in the past, a memory she couldn't grasp at. She saw snow billowing past the windows, flurrying as it hurried to settle on the ground, the whiteness of it providing the only source of light in the dark hall. As she turned around, hoping to find some source of comfort, she saw nothing but ghosts. The ghosts of those she loved, her parents, Magnus, and those she barely knew: March and Vanessa, the ghost of Mike, but her eyes would always rest on the one ghost she couldn't understand, the ghost of the Winter Soldier.

The moment she found him she always paused for a moment before moving forward, it felt right to go towards him, but the moment she moved she woke up.

She never woke up with a start, it was always peaceful, an emergence back into the world as her eyelids slowly fluttered open and took in their surroundings, growing acclimatised to the fact that she had another day to face. She never remembered the dream after she had it, only the feelings which accompanied it. It was like an overwhelming sadness, the kind of grief she had only known after her parents' death, the kind of feeling she didn't know how to process.

She got on with her days and gradually the feeling faded and she was able to act like nothing had ever happened again until the night came. As she lay in bed she briefly remembered the dream and wondered if it would come again that night, she knew that by actively thinking about it she was probably inducing it in some way but it felt strange not to consider it, not to want it. She found herself looking forward to her little dream-excursions, she pretended she didn't enjoy dancing with James Barnes, but she knew that in reality she would never pass up an opportunity to dance with him because she knew that they would make the perfect partners.

March pushed forward for a meeting with the board as the next week rolled on and Hazel found it easier to laugh along with Mike as they didn't take training as seriously all of the time when March wasn't there. They both knew that if he found out then they would be in serious trouble but it almost seemed worth it to pretend like either of them had a choice in being there and doing what they were doing.

At the end of the week Hazel was painfully aware of the date, it was Magnus' birthday and she missed him more than ever. She was thinking about him, wondering about how he was, when she was making her way from the training room to the meal room for her dinner and injection; she was being escorted just like usual but they were intercepted by Vanessa who nodded to allow the escort to leave.

'Is everything okay?' Hazel asked and Vanessa attempted to give her a small smile.

'Come with me.' she instructed and they walked in the opposite direction before coming to a small office which Hazel assumed was Vanessa's office. Once the door was shut Vanessa leaned in towards her confidentially.

'I'm going to take you out tonight because March isn't here and he won't be back until morning, you must promise me that you won't let on to him that you've left the base, alright?' she said in her clipped voice and Hazel nodded, too confused to question. Vanessa grabbed two coats and handed her one, ordering her to put it on which she did and pulled the hood up to hide her face. Somehow, Hazel knew not to ask questions until they were clear from the base.

Hazel pretended she was too wrapped up in the fact that she was being taken out of the base to note where everything was, where every twist and turn lay that got them out of the labyrinth and towards the exit; but in reality she noted everything, it was the first time she had been allowed to leave the base and it gave her a little comfort that she could know exactly how to get out should she need to.

After they left the base Hazel was bundled into a car with Vanessa in the seat beside her in the back, Hazel couldn't help but notice how Vanessa's hand rested lightly on a holster hidden by her jacket, she had a gun and Hazel wondered if that was for her or to protect her.

It was already dark outside so Hazel couldn't glimpse any of the outside world, she hadn't seen any of the world in months and now she realised how much she missed sunlight, how much she wished she could hear the bustle of a city, the sound of a car horn or a bird singing. She just wanted to hear or see something other than the world she had known in the compound. She didn't dare ask where Vanessa was taking her or what they were going to do, part of her wondered if this was some kind of mission, her first.

Instead she sat in silence and stared at her own pale reflection in the window, she hadn't realised just how pale she had become but thinking about her lack of exposure to the sun it did make some sense. They were coming closer to the city and Hazel drank in every sight she could as they sped through the suburbs and into the heart of the city. They stopped outside a dimly lit cafe that Hazel noticed was deserted except for a couple of people sat at a table in the middle.

Vanessa got out of the car and motioned for Hazel to do the same but keep the coat on. Hazel obeyed and followed Vanessa into the cafe where two of the men sat at the table stood up suddenly and turned to face them, Hazel prepared herself to put up a fight before her eyes fell on the third person and she dropped her defence immediately.

'Magnus?' she asked as Magnus turned to look at her with a smile. He stood up suddenly and the two men moved towards Vanessa as Hazel ran forward to embrace her brother. For a couple of seconds Vanessa and the two men watched as the siblings reunited before the two men slipped away into the back.

'You don't have too long, make it count.' Vanessa said, it was the kindest voice she had ever used and Hazel gave her a smile of gratitude before Vanessa followed the men into the back of the cafe to give them some privacy.

'How have you been?' Hazel asked as the two of them sat opposite one another in the booth, she kept his hand firmly clasped between hers and her eyes trained on him as she searched his face for signs of neglect. On the contrary, Magnus looked the healthiest she had seen him since he was a child, more than that, he looked happy. It was clear that whatever Vanessa had been doing to ensure his happiness it was working.

'I've been good, Vanessa has been great and making sure I'm getting everything I need. She comes to check up on me personally every weekend and to make sure I'm studying well and eating right and everything.' Magnus smiled and Hazel looked around but determined it was safe to pull the hood away from her face, it was beginning to feel stuffy.

'Oh my God…' Magnus exclaimed suddenly and his face fell when he saw his sister. 'What happened to you?' he asked and Hazel laughed.

'What? You don't think pink suits me?' she asked playfully but she knew that Magnus wasn't just referring to the colour of her hair.

'Hazel what have they been doing to you? What have you been doing?' he asked and Hazel shrugged, giving his hand a squeeze.

'It's just a bit of a makeover, they're even talking of giving me a tattoo, you know I've always wanted a tattoo!' she exclaimed, trying to keep her voice to reassure him but he didn't seem reassured.

'You're so pale, and holy shit is your skin blue?' he asked and pulled up her sleeve to expose her arm where her skin was still shimmering a blue slightly as a result of the serum.

'Hey, watch your language, I'm still your big sister - let's not talk about this Mags, we don't have a lot of time to spend together.' she tried to coax him by rubbing his hands and pulling down her sleeve again, she could tell he was worried and it would be difficult to bring the conversation to a more pleasant topic but what kind of a big sister would she be if she didn't try.

'I'll feel better if you just tell me what's happening with you, what you're doing.' he said quietly and she knew it was a demand on his part. She sighed and ran a hand through her bubblegum pink hair, she hated it now more than ever.

'Okay, they're doing just what they said they would, I guess. They're turning me into a superhero to combat the real bad guys, people like the Avengers and the Winter Solider, the people who are really responsible for our parents deaths; but they can't do that just with me as me so they have to turn me into someone else. It's just for the public, I mean the hair and this crazy costume they've got for me, and to make me stronger and better at fighting they give me this serum and it's fine but they're still working out the kinks and some of the side effects are a bit weird like my skin being all shiny. But it's all fine! Seriously, you do not need to worry; and you should see me fighting now I'm such a badass, I won my first fight against my mentor the other day and it was like something out of a movie or something it was crazy!' she explained and tried to sound positive, plastering a smile on her face that she hoped was convincing but something on his face told her that it wasn't.

'So they've got you taking an experimental medicine whilst they turn you into a killing machine?' he asked drily and she pinched his hand.

'Don't be crude. It's much more complicated than that.' she said quietly, dropping her smile and pinching her nose as she tried to think of something she could tell him that would bring him some comfort.

'Explain it to me Hazel, because right now all I see is that you're sick and being treated badly and if you're not doing well then I'd rather leave than see you get hurt any more.' he whispered and she looked at him in alarm, silently praying that the cafe wasn't bugged, there was no way of telling.

'What the hell are you saying?' she whispered back. 'Do you know how crazy that sounds?'

'How is it crazy? I mean it Hazel, we should go, just bolt like we did before these guys found us, find somewhere to hole up until it all blows over then get the hell out of dodge, go somewhere else.' he suggested and she shook her head.

'No, Mags, we can't go.' she said firmly and his eyes flashed angrily in a way that reminded Hazel of March when he was angry.

'Why not? Hazel this is crazy.' he protested but she let her own emotion get the better of her as she reminded them both that she was the oldest and therefore she was the one in charge.

'No. What's crazy is that here you get an education, we have roofs over our heads and food to eat and if we ran we would give all that up and I don't know if I could look after us. Before you say it no you can't look after us because you're just a kid, just like I was when mom and dad died.' she spoke heatedly and they both stopped, surprised, when she mentioned their parents. Hazel took a deep breath to steady herself before she continued.

'I failed you, Magnus, after mom and dad died. I was selfish and immature. I should have accepted help for us, for you, even if it meant that we would have had to split up. We could have found one another again, but I should have put you first rather than taking you and running. Signing up for this, where we are now, it's the best thing I ever did for you, for us. We are not running this time, you are safe here and I won't put you in danger again. We're staying and that is the end of this discussion so tell me about school or I swear to God I will beat your ass.' she told him and he stared her down defiantly for a moment before reaching back out to take her hand and steadying his own anger.

'I got a B plus on a math test last week and I'm thinking about asking this girl, Tracey, to homecoming. She's cute.' he said and Hazel smiled at the normalcy her brother was getting to go through, she was glad and she stood by her decision that this was the right place for them to be.

Their time was cut off too soon but Hazel understood that if March got back to the base and found her gone then she wouldn't be the only one dead, Vanessa would too; and after the risk she was taking by bringing her to her brother, Hazel couldn't bear to put Vanessa in any more danger than she already was.

'Time to go.' Vanessa said from the doorway as the two men accompanied her and Hazel and Magnus stood up and looked at one another, they were unsure when the next time would be that they would get to see one another. Hazel hugged her brother again, it was the tightest she had ever held him but he didn't complain, he held her back just as tightly.

'Think about what I said, I meant it.' he whispered into her ear and Hazel tensed slightly but didn't respond. When they broke apart Magnus took off his bracelet, something Hazel had made for him years ago and he had never parted with and now he held it out to her.

'Take it, so I can be with you all the time in some way.' he said and she looked at it for a moment before putting it back into his own hands and clasping them firmly together.

'It's your birthday asshole.' she smiled and he smiled back before hugging her again.

'Seeing you was the best present.' he muttered and she fought back tears, she wanted to appear strong for him so she blinked back her tears and gave him another smile before pulling her hood back up and following Vanessa back out to the car.

Once they were in the car and driving away from the cafe, Hazel didn't have to hide it anymore. She turned her face away from Vanessa and tried to cry as quietly as she could, as much as she didn't want to bottle up her emotions she didn't want to appear weak in front of Vanessa either. After a few minutes of her crying she felt a light tap on her arm and turned to see Vanessa's extended hand holding a tissue; Vanessa wasn't even looking at her, she was staring out of her own window and Hazel knew this meant she was turning a blind eye. She accepted the tissue gratefully and knew that this would never be spoken of again.


End file.
